


Parent Teacher Day

by Misha Berry (MishaDerps)



Series: Contest Winners [8]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Attempting to Act like Normal People, Bat Family, Gen, Humor, School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-16 22:20:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13645596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MishaDerps/pseuds/Misha%20Berry
Summary: Normally, Bruce tended to skip Parent/Teacher Day at his kids schools. He usually managed to beg off with the excuse that he was busy, which he usually was. It wasn’t that he objected to them really, but Gotham Academy was populated by children of fellow businessmen and women who weren’t shy about trying to get cozy with Bruce at any opportunity. However, Damian’s teachers had expressed some concern over Damian’s behaviour issues at school, and had strongly recommended that he attend.Bruce might not have minded so much if the rest of his children had decided to stay home.





	Parent Teacher Day

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tricksterash](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tricksterash/gifts).



> So this actually cause me a surprising amount of grief in writing it. I guess it's not something I usually go for, so I didn't have any experience. I finally managed to get it into some semblance of an actual story though, and I'm pretty happy with how it came out.

Bruce had faced down a lot of scary things over the years. He’d nearly lost his life countless times, to many different enemies that would have had any lesser man paralyzed with fear. Today however, Bruce was going to have to face what might be the terrifying adversary he’d ever encountered.

Parent/Teacher Day at Damian’s school.

Normally, Bruce tended to skip Parent/Teacher Day at his kids schools. He usually managed to beg off with the excuse that he was busy, which he usually was. It wasn’t that he objected to them really, but Gotham Academy was populated by children of fellow businessmen and women who weren’t shy about trying to get cozy with Bruce at any opportunity. However, Damian’s teachers had expressed some concern over Damian’s behaviour issues at school, and had strongly recommended that he attend.

Bruce might not have minded so much if the  _ rest _ of his children had decided to stay home.

“God, it’s so  _ weird _ to be back here,” Dick said, looking all around them as they walked through the halls of Gotham Academy, “I remember it being so much bigger when I was a kid.”

“Probably because you used to be shorter, Dickface,” Jason said, “Though this old place does have a nostalgic quality to it. All those memories of before I was fucking murdered.”

“All those memories of you being a giant teacher’s pet,” Tim teased.

Bruce sighed and tried to ignore his children’s bickering. When it became clear that it wasn't working, he turned to them, “Why are any of you here? Only Damian and I needed to come.”

“I’m here for moral support,” Dick said, smiling brightly.

“Someone needed to record you two trying to act like normal humans for posterity,” Tim pointed out.

“I’m here to watch you suffer,” Jason said with a shrug and a grin.

Bruce sighed tried to resist the urge to just turn around and walk back out. It was a lot harder than he thought it would be. Beside him, Damian walked stiffly, clearly as unhappy about the whole thing as Bruce was. Damian didn't particularly like school that much; he saw it as a waste of time, one because he’d already been taught much more advanced subject matter by tutors, and two because it took away time he could use for more important training. Bruce had insisted though, knowing that it was important that Damian at least try to socialize with peers.

Not that  _ that _ was going well.

“Mr. Wayne!” called Ms. Gibson, Damian’s homeroom teacher, waving them over to Damian’s class, “I’m so glad you could make it.”

“I’m happy to have been able to come,” Bruce lied, smiling pleasantly.

They were ushered inside and directed to wander around the room to look at the various projects that the class had done. Damian’s projects stood out as slightly more well constructed than his peers, but also with much more  _ mature _ subject matter.

“You did an entire history project on the Siege of Leningrad?” Jason asked, raising an eyebrow at the statistics of casualties on both sides.

“It was a significant military defeat,” Damian said, “We were supposed to find a significant moment in history and report on it, and that’s what I did.”

“Usually they mean for you do something like the first person in space, or women getting the vote. Y’know, something happy,” Tim pointed out.

Damian scowled, “The Space Race was an extension of the Cold War, which involved such high tensions that people were certain the world was coming to an end. Women were given suffrage in many countries as a direct result of World War One. Literally nothing in history has been ‘happy’.”

Jason shook his head, “You must be a delight to have in class.”

“Mr. Wayne?” Ms. Gibson called, “If I could speak to you for a minute?”

“Of course,” Bruce said. He turned to glare at his sons, “Behave yourselves for ten minutes.”

Dick rolled his eyes, “I’m sure even we can manage that.”

Bruce eyed them for another moment before following Ms. Gibson. He wanted to trust his children, but historically that could go wrong very fast.

“I’m glad you decided to come tonight,” Ms. Gibson said, smiling up at him, “I’ve heard you don't frequent school events.”

“I donate a lot to the school, I figure that’s enough,” Bruce said simply, “I was told this time that Damian’s teachers had some concerns and that I was strongly encouraged to come.”

Ms. Gibson’s smile faltered a little, “Yes well, Damian has been a… singular case,” she said.

“His report cards all seem fine,” Bruce said, keeping up the mask of slightly ignorant billionaire.

“Oh no sir, it’s not his grades at all,” Ms. Gibson reassured him, “He’s often the best in class on assignments.”

“Has there been any issues with other students?” Bruce asked.

Ms. Gibson shook her head, “Not especially. Though, I should say that Damian seems to avoid the other students as much as possible. He doesn't seem to be shy at all, but more anti-social.”

Ms. Gibson suddenly stopped and looked up at him seriously, “Mr. Wayne, I’m more concerned with your son’s…  _ interests _ .”

Bruce inwardly groaned, knowing what was about to happen. “Damian was home schooled before he came to my care. His mother had a great amount of influence over what he learned, and as a result Damian’s become a little narrow in his hobbies,” he explained quickly. He smiled, hoping to put Ms. Gibson at ease, “I can assure we’re doing everything we can to broaden Damian’s horizons.”

Ms. Gibson visibly relaxed. For a moment it seemed she was about to respond, but a loud crash and shouting interrupted her. The two of them turned to see Damian standing on a desk, shouting obscenities at Jason, Dick holding Damian around the middle to stop him from leaping at Jason, Jason shouting back at Damian and taunting him, and Tim filming the whole thing, egging everyone on while Dick shouted at him to help. Bruce checked his watch; five minutes had passed since stepping away to talk with Ms. Gibson.

“Like I said, we’re doing everything we can to help Damian,” Bruce reiterated. Ms. Gibson looked at him like he had sprouted a second head. Bruce smiled at her and turned, walking out of the classroom, wondering if he could walk fast enough to escape the nightmare that were his beloved children.

Probably not.

**Author's Note:**

> If you'd like to win a commission, head over to my main fic Blood in the Water and pay attention to chapter updates for contests.


End file.
